New Zealand have finished a disappointing third at the SailGP Grand Final in San Francisco.
It was not the NZ SailGP Team's day on San Francisco Bay on Sunday (Monday NZ Time), as Peter Burling and crew finished behind first-time champions Spain and Australia in the three-boat final race.
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After a delay to the grand final as New Zealand made some repairs to their boat, Amokura, they were third off the start-line and to the first mark. New Zealand got on the inside of Australia, forcing them off the course to briefly take second.
While Spain and Australia went to the shoreline side of the course - where the breeze, less current and gains were - on the first upwind leg, New Zealand went the opposite way and fell further behind.
Needing a Hail Mary to make up ground, they stayed on the bay side of the course for the final downwind leg but it did not succeed
Australia had a mechanical issue on the fifth leg, effectively handing Spain the title, despite a nervous moment after coming off the foils coming to the final mark.
"A bit gutted by the outcome today but really proud of the way the team bounced back from a really tough second race and really gave it our all in that final," said a dejected Burling.
"It's been an amazing season for us. Really proud of the group for that but to not be able to put the icing on the cake in the last one is pretty tough."
Earlier, New Zealand finished third and seventh in Sunday's two fleet races, finishing fourth overall in San Francisco. They had guaranteed the top spot in the standings after their victory in New York a month ago.
Spain only qualified for the grand final after France collided with Denmark coming to the final mark in the fourth fleet race earlier in the day, snapping a rudder to finish last and ruling them out of the final fleet race.
The victory completed a triumphant day for Spanish sport, following Carlos Alcaraz's Wimbledon singles title, Sergio Garcia winning the LIV Golf tournament on home soil and Spain defeating England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final.
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